The Phu Tho Department of Education and Training announced the results of the provincial gifted student selection examination on the afternoon of 9/2. Truong Yen Duong, a 9C grade student from Vinh Tuong Secondary School, made an impression as the only contestant to achieve a perfect score – 20/20 points – in informatics.

The exam consisted of 4 essay questions, with a 150-minute time limit. Yen Duong assessed the exam as more difficult than in previous years, with knowledge primarily related to mathematics, such as factorials and exponents, rather than focusing on informatics techniques. She developed a time-based test-taking strategy: dedicating 10 minutes to categorize questions by difficulty before starting, and reserving the remaining 20 minutes to review her presentation.

The most challenging was question three, which required counting the number of solution pairs satisfying an equation. According to Le Duy Binh, the informatics team teacher at Vinh Tuong Secondary School, this was a difficult problem type, involving advanced mathematical knowledge often used in gifted mathematics competitions. Having never encountered it before, Duong was confused upon reading the question. After regaining her composure, she analyzed the fractional equation in the problem, thereby reducing the problem to counting the divisors of an integer.

The student stated that she was quite confident with her exam results, but worried about losing points due to minor errors.

"Only when a friend informed me did I feel relieved and happy", Duong said.

Truong Yen Duong. *Photo: Family provided*

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, Yen Duong's mother, recounted that from a young age, her daughter showed a fondness for numbers, often self-planning sales to earn money for gifts for her parents and sister. From then on, Ngoc always encouraged her to develop her computational thinking. In her two grade, she won a bronze medal at the national Titan TMO Mathematics Olympiad.

When introduced to informatics, Duong was fascinated by its connection to mathematics. She also found informatics not as dry as many of her friends did, believing it to be "highly artistic".

"Each time I successfully run a program, I feel like I've just solved a difficult math problem or written a good essay", Duong expressed.

To strengthen her foundational knowledge for informatics, after being admitted to Vinh Tuong Secondary School (formerly Vinh Phuc province), then the district's key school, the student immediately joined the gifted mathematics team.

Due to family circumstances, Duong later transferred to Hung Hoa Secondary School (formerly Phu Tho), where she studied in both the informatics and mathematics teams. In her 8th grade, the student won the third prize in the 9th grade informatics gifted student competition.

At the beginning of the last academic year, Yen Duong returned to her old school and continued to be selected for training in the informatics team. She stated that she did not study broadly but rather selectively focused on knowledge for concentrated practice. In addition to one session with the team, Duong self-studied three sessions each week, each lasting 1-2 hours. Before practicing, she set clear goals for problem types, then selected quality problems to code. On average, the student solved about 10-20 problems; on days with many difficult problems, she only completed 3-5.

Duong considers AI (ChatGPT, Gemini) to be a powerful supportive tool. She often asks AI about algorithms, thoroughly understanding their nature to grasp the steps, and then a few days later, she independently runs the programs on her computer to memorize them.

Beyond her studies, Yen Duong also dedicates time to her hobby of painting. According to her, informatics is one subject that combines logical thinking and creativity. Therefore, painting helps her enhance her associative ability and visualize models when programming.

Yen Duong and Le Duy Binh, the informatics team teacher at Vinh Tuong Secondary School. *Photo: Family provided*

Le Duy Binh commented that Yen Duong possesses a strong mathematics foundation and good critical thinking. In assessments, she often achieves perfect scores and ranks among the top one of the team.

"Duong is a rare, well-rounded student at the school", the teacher said. "Each time she takes an exam, she looks straight at the screen and focuses on solving until she finishes".

Soon, Yen Duong plans to take the entrance exam for the specialized informatics class at Vinh Phuc High School for the Gifted. In the future, she hopes to pursue creative fields such as web programming or game design.

Hai Yen